An Attitude of Gratitude

I want to thank Rachel from Living Without Wheat, for nominating
me for the Attitude of Gratitude award.I am extremely touched by your kind words. Thank you.And, yes, I’m often found smiling at my
computer.Especially when I’m checking
out my favorite blogs like yours, and listening to Adam Lambert on my ipod.

Attitude of Gratitude Award

So now that this honor has been bestowed upon me I’ve started
thinking about how grateful I really feel and what am I grateful for.I have to admit, I can fall into the hole of
I’m tired of having to always know what I’m eating and I’m tired of cooking.Sometimes I just want to “check out”.But that usually only lasts about 5 minutes
and I get over it.It does me no good to
stay there, so I just visit every now and then.

I’m grateful that I can no longer eat rice because it has
forced me to stop eating so many processed foods.That is a good thing for us all to give
up.I’m happy to give up all of the gastrointestinal
wonders my body use to go through when I ate gluten.I’m grateful I got to give up that foggy
brain and memory loss.I’m grateful for
the abundance of local farms, farmers markets and great grocery stores that I
live near so I can purchase foods that are really good for me and my family.

Family, wow am I grateful for them.My husband is and has always been so
supportive of me as I struggled for years to find out what was making me so
sick and then make the changes needed to get healthy.It was not as easy as “stop eating gluten” for
me.As many of you know that have gone
through similar scenarios, being sick for a long time can really change who
you are.Being healthy, I feel like “me”
again.He’s been supportive of whoever
is here, “me” or the other me.I’m
grateful I know the difference.

My two sons jumped right in to make sure that what I ate was
safe.They always wash their hands when
they come home. If they bring anything into the house that has gluten they sequester it and clean up
afterwards.They even put up with me
getting them tested to see what foods their bodies don’t tolerate.They have given up different foods including
wheat, soy, dairy and others.I’m very proud of them for learning about food
and their health at such young ages.They are currently 19 & 15.It took me into my 40’s to get on board with that.The years of damage that they’ll now miss out
on I hope will keep them healthy.

I’m grateful for my friends that understand when I come for
dinner at their home and bring my own dinner or have them over more often.They are supportive and will pass on
information they find that I might be interested in.It’s great.

I’m grateful for the people that find and read my blog and
then join in with comments and sharing links on Friday Foodie Fix days.I love hearing from people with their
questions and comments.I want to help
people with making the transition to living gluten free and getting off
processed foods.We all deserve to put
the best foods into our bodies.

I’m grateful for the many blogs I read and learn from.When I was told to no longer eat gluten I was
given a couple of links to online resources and a short list of some foods that
I could eat.Well that just was not
enough to figure out how to live gluten free.I searched the internet and the first three blogs I found were Karnia’s
Kitchen – The Gluten Free Goddess, Shauna Ahern -Gluten Free Girl and Celiac
Chicks.Now we can find many blogs and websites to
read about living gluten free, dairy free, organic and whole food healthy.I hope they are all headed to the BlogHer Food Conference so I can thank them in person.

In the meantime here are the blogs I would like to nominate
for the Attitude of Gratitude Award:

Karina’s Kitchen- Gluten Free Goddess – is a wealth of information on so much more than gluten free food. She shares info on Celiac Disease and important facts on issues that support daily tasks, vegetarian and vegan recipes and amazing photos.

Gluten Free Girl -Shauna James Ahern -wrote a great book on what life is and can be living gluten free. Gluten Free Girl is the title. She shares stories and information that can have you eating healthy and gluten free.

Celiac Chicks -a guide to hip & healthy gluten free lifestyle. It’s a fun place to find out about new gluten free foods and places to eat in New York City.

Whole Food Nutrition -Ali and Tom are one very smart couple. They wrote Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook which I believe should be on everyone’s shelf, no matter if you eat gluten free or not. They share wonderful stories and recipes that will fill your soul and your body with healthy whole foods.

Elana’s Pantry -beautiful, delicious, approachable. That’s what comes to mind when I visit her blog. I’m not a baker but I believe I can bake her recipes. They generally don’t have a long list of ingredients and usually are things I can eat. Always a bonus. Working on her Twinkies this week. Waiting on her cookbook The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook to arrive.

I am Gluten Free –
very creative recipes and information to share. I’ve been reading her blog for a couple of years now and I always find something new and useful. Love that.

Gluten Free Easily by Shirley. She shares how it can be easy to live gluten free and she means it. Lots of great stories, products, recipes and great lists. She often gives talks on just how to tackle this life and is very giving with her time and information.

Sure Foods Living -this is another blog I’ve been reading for some time now. Lots of info on Celiac Disease, gluten free and info on food allergies. You can find recipes, food reviews and useful information like what to cook for the holidays.

Sensitive Pantry -here you can find gluten free, egg free, dairy free, and vegan recipes. This is a new blog by Nancy but she has a wealth of information. She’s a foodie like me, so not being able to eat certain foods is not going to slow her down. She’s also very patient.

Blog Schmog – Gluten Free 4 Goofs– shares the funniest stories (because it’s not happening to me) and great recipes that you can make with one arm! (has little ones)

One Frugal Foodie -Alisa has written a great book on living dairy free titled, Go Dairy Free. You can always find something tasty on her blogs. She also has really fun giveaways.

Book of Yum -can this gal cook. You can search on recipes by looking at pictures of them. Love that! Great info and resources. She also hosts a monthly Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger which is a blast.

There are no rules, but if you’ve
been mentioned and have the time please pay the tribute forward. If you choose
to then here are some guidelines.

put the
logo on your blog or post

nominate at
least 10 bloggers that show an attitude of gratitude

link to
your nominees within your post

comment on
their blogs to let them know they’ve received this award

share the
love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award

12 Responses to An Attitude of Gratitude

Thanks Diane, this was a beautiful post. I like the personal touch. For some reason I only thought you had one son, but now I see you have two! I am looking forward to meeting you at the Blogher conference this September!
-Ali 🙂

Thanks Diane, this was a beautiful post. I like the personal touch. For some reason I only thought you had one son, but now I see you have two! I am looking forward to meeting you at the Blogher conference this September!
-Ali 🙂

Diane so nice to meet you through Shirley. We will have to meet up at Reston market sometime. I also want to got to the Amish market on Hunter Mill Rd. as well. Lakeside Cafe is great and since most things are in corn tortillas, they are gluten free. This is a wonderful list of gluten free blogs. I know some folks that are gluten free so I can refer then to yours, Shirley's and now all of the above!

Diane so nice to meet you through Shirley. We will have to meet up at Reston market sometime. I also want to got to the Amish market on Hunter Mill Rd. as well. Lakeside Cafe is great and since most things are in corn tortillas, they are gluten free. This is a wonderful list of gluten free blogs. I know some folks that are gluten free so I can refer then to yours, Shirley’s and now all of the above!

Wow, Diane–thank you so very much!!! I appreciate your personal story very much. (I chuckled at your comment about wanting to "check out" sometimes … yeah, I do that, too, but then get up and cook something like you. LOL) I really think our personal stories are the ones that are the most compelling. I also think that they spread awareness about the many health issues that can be related to food more than a listing of symptoms ever can. It's enlightening to "see" ourselves in others' stories. Thanks for all you do here at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang. Congratulations on your award and thanks again!!
Hugssss,
Shirley

Wow, Diane–thank you so very much!!! I appreciate your personal story very much. (I chuckled at your comment about wanting to “check out” sometimes … yeah, I do that, too, but then get up and cook something like you. LOL) I really think our personal stories are the ones that are the most compelling. I also think that they spread awareness about the many health issues that can be related to food more than a listing of symptoms ever can. It’s enlightening to “see” ourselves in others’ stories. Thanks for all you do here at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang. Congratulations on your award and thanks again!!
Hugssss,
Shirley

Shirley, Ali and Alison- You are welcome. I really enjoy reading your blogs. Can't wait to meet up with you all at the conference.
Robin Sue- You know about more markets in my area than I do. I'll check out the Amish market. I grew up outside of Lancaster PA and on a lot of Amish foods. Not sure how many are gluten free but I sure miss scrapple. I hope we get to meet up soon. Loved your stories on Lakeside cafe. I'll head there soon.

Shirley, Ali and Alison- You are welcome. I really enjoy reading your blogs. Can’t wait to meet up with you all at the conference.
Robin Sue- You know about more markets in my area than I do. I’ll check out the Amish market. I grew up outside of Lancaster PA and on a lot of Amish foods. Not sure how many are gluten free but I sure miss scrapple. I hope we get to meet up soon. Loved your stories on Lakeside cafe. I’ll head there soon.